Introduction As we enter the cooler months, the thought of the holidays is just around the corner. With it, comes celebrations of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Some see Christmas as an excuse to go to worship. Not having been there since Easter, they know it’s almost time to go again. Prior to that, churches are organizing activities to encourage more people to attend instead of waiting for Christmas. But are those activities found in scripture?   Fall Festivals? Although the temperatures in the Midwest and Eastern Coast are considerably cooler, here in the desert, the temperature dips to under 100 and we rejoice. It allows “churches” to, once again, drag their festival-like stalls out of mothballs to sell donuts, ciders, candies, and all things Autumn. There are usually carnival games, rides, and of course (for Halloween) Trunk-or-Treat events. All of this is done as people consider the “church” to be a safe haven compared to the “evils” ...

  The Work of the Church,  Part 3   Introduction We’ve been looking at the actual work of the church. Two weeks we covered, “Edifying the Saved” and this week’s article is about benevolence and should be cared for. There are a lot of people out there who believe that the church should be doing so much more that what listed in scripture but if we don’t have authority to do it, then we shouldn’t. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:6, Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written , that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.   Definition of Benevolence From the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary: 1. The disposition to do good; good will; kindness; charitableness; the love, of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. The benevolence of God is one of his moral attributes; that attribute which delights i...

  ( Work of the Church, Filler article) Introduction In Gal. 6:10 Paul writes, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” A Christian is to have compassion on everyone he meets regardless of color, creed, gender, etc. But he is to especially do good to his brothers and sisters in the faith whether they are of his own local congregation or someone doing the work in a third world country. There are, at times, those who are simply looking for a handout and see the church as a pushover of generosity and will “tug at your heartstrings” with a sob story to gain a couple bucks here or there. Any church has limited funds and it must be utilized to maintain the work where it resides.   Professional Bums Years ago, someone standing on the side of the road looking for a handout was usually someone in real need. Today, however, it seems more and more that people are preying on others kindness by “earning mo...

  The Work of the Church,  Part 2   Introduction We’ve been looking at the actual work of the church. Last week we covered, “Teaching the Lost” and this week’s article is about edification of the saved. There are a lot of people out there who believe that the church should be doing so much more that what listed in scripture but if we don’t have authority to do it, then we shouldn’t. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:6, Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written , that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.   Continue in the teachings A lot of new converts out there have a belief that once you are baptized and become a Christian, that you are done and nothing more is needed. They follow the five steps in the obedience of the Father but then they sit back or return to their former lives assuming that since th...

  The Work of the Church,  Part 1   Introduction In these next three articles, we’ll look at the actual work of the church. There are a lot of people out there who believe that the church should be doing so much more that what listed in scripture but if we don’t have authority to do it, then we shouldn’t. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:6, Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written , that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. One of the most dangerous things that a Christian can do is to perform duties, on behalf of the church, and state that just because the bible didn’t say, “not to”, it’s acceptable. It is not acceptable because that would open the gates to any number of activities people could claim are acceptable.   Evangelism What is evangelism? The definition, in the 1913 Webster’s dictionary,...

(from 2007) Introduction Sometimes you hear the phrase “white elephant’ being used for a gift exchange during the holidays. A person brings an item they really don’t want but doesn’t hasn’t thrown it away and brings it to the party in exchange for another useless item that someone else doesn’t want. From the internet, I found an origin of this phrase: “A useless and troublesome possession that one cannot easily get rid of. Legend has it that rare albino elephants in ancient Siam automatically became the property of the king. At least one such monarch gave a white elephant to any courtier who fell out of favor; the subject was soon ruined by the cost of maintaining this precious gift.” Since the white elephant was so respected by all, the elephant couldn’t be used for work; thereby, it ruined an individual financially by the maintenance of it. Are You Useful? There are times when the Kingdom of God has “white elephants”. One example of this is when a m...

(To the Christian) Introduction         The countdown begins, Midnight strikes, “Auld Lang Syne” is sung, and a new year is under way. As tradition goes, people make resolutions for the coming year with the promise of changes to improve their lives. Of course, by the week’s end we’ve already reneged on those promises. So why do we make them?         Every year we make the same resolutions: I’m going on a diet, I’m going to travel more, I will be more outgoing. And yet, just a few days later, we come to the realization that we were rash in our decisions and immediately fall back into routine. The diet is ruined by that extra piece of pie, traveling is out because of a dwindling bank account, being outgoing means having to go outside where *gasp* other people are.         For those of us who are Christians, instead of making New Year’s Resolutions we should...